Murali Venkatrao
Murali was born in India and lives now in the Seattle area. His is an active life balancing a creative and committed career in technology with regular visits to his family in India. Added to his dedication to the path of yoga, Murali shares in a creative, insightful, and playful style for which students are most appreciative. Murali co-teaches the Ananda Yoga Teacher Training program with Michelle Marshall.
Michelle Marshall
Michelle serves as an instructor and assistant director for the Ananda Yoga Teacher Training program. She teaches both Ananda meditation and Ananda yoga, including on-going classes, workshops and the Hatha Intensive program. Michelle appreciates the many opportunities she has to share the benefits of yoga, meditation and teaching with students at Ananda.
Dakshina Agee
Dakshina has been practicing the Raja Yoga techniques as taught at Ananda since 2001. She currently serves as part of the office staff at the Ananda Meditation Temple in Bothell, where you can find her most weekdays. Dakshina enjoys sharing the joy of yoga with students in the meditation classes that she teaches.
Rick Johnston
Rick has been teaching meditation, raja yoga and other classes for as long as he has lived in Seattle, and before that in Santa Rosa, CA. An East West Bookshop favorite and an avid gardener, he is seen east, west, north and south tending the tender shoots and buds of life, and nurturing them into tasty edibles.
Christy Johnston
Christy teaches the Meditation Level 1 classes as well as substitutes for yoga from time to time. She appreciates the opportunity to help people find the joy and calmness in these practices that she herself has found.
She lives at the Ananda Community with her husband and 2 cats, and enjoys gardening, helping people with projects, rolling balls of yarn, and learning about natural health.
Justin Maggart
Justin teaches Ananda Yoga and meditation in Bothell at the Meditation Temple and in Seattle at East West Bookshop. As an experienced Spanish and English teacher, Justin dynamically leads classes that help students understand and daily practice the teachings of Raja Yoga. Justin also sings and plays percussion with the traditional Cuban Son music group “SuperSones” and enjoys gardening with goats and chickens.
Buddy Wilson
Buddy teaches Meditation level I and assists with the Raja Yoga course. After several years practicing meditation under Theravada, Mahayana and Zen traditions, Buddy found a personal resonance with the devotional, energy-centered and highly practical approach of the ancient Yoga masters that is taught at Ananda. He now joyfully shares his love and enthusiasm for this meditation practice through teaching.
Michael Dennis
Michael has enjoyed helping people as a licensed massage therapist for many years. Several years ago he added the practice and teaching of hatha yoga to his repertoire of healing techniques, and very much enjoys working with students in Ananda Yoga classes at East West Bookshop in Seattle.
Lorie Gail
Lorie teaches yoga classes at the Ananda temple in Bothell. She specializes in deep relaxation classes. One her greatest joy in teaching a yoga class is helping others find the peace and joy she has found through her practice. Her gentle manner of teaching creates a safe and supportive environment which allows each student to release and relax into the poses. Through these gentle poses each student’s natural energy and balance will be restored and they can discover their own inner radiance.
Rashmi Dave
Helping people achieve more healthful lifestyles as a personal coach, Rashmi felt drawn to the teaching of yoga, which she had practiced since early life. Rashmi shares her love of yoga in it’s traditional meditative form at Ananda and at East West Bookshop in Seattle. She appreciates being an intrument in helping people find their center through the practice of yoga. Rashmi enjoys gardening and sharing natural health practices.
Masha Reichert
Masha teaches the Meditation I series at the East West Bookstore in Seattle. Masha came to Ananda to learn meditation techniques after decades of struggling on her own. Through her teaching she hopes to share with others some of the joy that she has found in meditation. When not in Seattle, Masha can be found in a peasant village in southern Russia, where she records Russian folksongs and, occasionally, helps with the potato harvest. Contrary to popular lore, she is in no way responsible for the existence of the Colarado potato beetle on Russian soil. Masha has taught Russian at college and university level.
Grisell Gonzales
Grisell, born and raised in Cuba, came to America 15 years ago and has been practicing yoga for the last twelve years. Recently completing her certification in Ananda Yoga, Grisell explains that “Once I found Ananda Yoga, everything changed for me. You will find that there is more to yoga than the physical body. I absolutely love the use of affirmations with each pose and the focus on self-awareness and meditation.”
